President Trump said Monday he personally asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to remove their masks while deployed to U.S. airports — drawing a sharp distinction between immigration enforcement on the streets and in the terminal.
“I’ve requested that they take off the mask. I don’t like it for the airport,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he departed West Palm Beach. “I think it’s a very appropriate look when they’re out on the street.”
Mr. Trump said the airport crowd is different from those ICE typically encounters. “The people coming into the airport, typically speaking, aren’t murderers, killers, drug dealers,” he said, adding that most are simply travelers coming or going.
Federal immigration officers were spotted Monday near busy security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Associated Press reported.
The deployment comes as a government shutdown has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country, with ICE agents brought in to supplement TSA officers.
Mr. Trump said he believes agents are willing to comply with the no-mask request. “I believe they are willing to do that,” he said.
SEE ALSO: Trump says ICE could arrest illegal immigrants at airports
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